The Latest: Mourners filling tent for Billy Graham funeral

An usher reads a program ahead of a funeral service at the Billy Graham Library for the Rev. Billy Graham, who died last week at age 99, Friday, March 2, 2018, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on the funeral of the Rev. Billy Graham (all times local):

9:35 a.m.

It’s a cold but sunny morning in Charlotte, North Carolina, where mourners wearing scarves, overcoats and ear muffs are filing into a huge tent where the funeral service for the Rev. Billy Graham will be held.

People began arriving as early at 7 a.m. on Friday, well in advance of the scheduled noon start for the services. Most people were standing around talking to one another as recorded hymns were played. Some 2,000 people are expected to attend, including President Donald Trump.

A steady breeze was flowing through the tent, adding to the morning chill and offsetting the clear skies. Winds were expected to be gusty throughout the morning.

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3:24 a.m.

Mourners are gathering to pay their respects to the Rev. Billy Graham at a funeral that marks the culmination of more than a week of tributes to “America’s Pastor.”

The service, scheduled to start at noon Friday, is to include performances by musicians who shared the stage with Graham at his crusades. The Rev. Franklin Graham will deliver the main funeral address for his father after personal messages from Billy Graham’s three daughters and younger son. President Donald Trump is expected to attend, but isn’t scheduled to speak.

The funeral planning began a decade ago with Billy Graham himself, and grew into his family’s desire to capture the feeling of the crusades that made the world’s best-known Protestant preacher of his era.